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f«C7.^ 



ioima EsEfeiTMSitioifii 



ABOUT 



Patents 

Caveats 

Trade Marks 
gST^ Copyrights 

Prints and Labels 

ETC. ETC. ETC. 



BY 

BEVANS & Bevans 

COLORADO BUILDING 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 



K^ 



OUR FIRM 







MR. JAMES W. BEVANS 

is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, and of the District of Columbia 
Courts. He has for the past ten years engaged in 
practice before the United States Patent Office 
and the Courts, during which time he has prepared 
and prosecuted applications for patents on many 
valuable inventions, and rendered opinions and 
conducted litigation in many important cases. He 
has been retained, and is now, by some of the 
largest manufacturing interests in the United 
States. 



OUR FIRM 




MR. WILLIAM H. BEVANS 

is an expert mechanical engineer with many years' 
experience, having gone through a thorough course 
of study in machine shops, drafting rooms, and 
factories, and was mechanical engineer for one of 
the largest manufacturing concerns in the New 
England States. 

His thorough knowledge of mechanics and 
acquaintance with shop, factory and technical 
subjects enable us to give to inventors the highest 
class of expert service in the preparation of patent 
cases, and in case of litigation furnish our clients 
with a mechanical expert of recognized ability in 
the profession. 



OUR HOME 



%. 




Our Offices 



Our offices are located in the 
Colorado Building, the elegant 
new office building situated on the corner of 14th 
and G Streets, N. W., within a few blocks of the 
Patent Office, Treasury Department, White House, 
State, War and Navy Departments, and other 
Government buildings. It can be reached in fifteen 
minutes from either of the present railway stations, 
or the new union depot now rapidly nearing com- 
pletion. Its location, with respect to the several 
Government buildings mentioned, and the fact that 
nearly all of the street railroads pass the door or 
within a block, makes it very convenient for in- 
ventors who desire to visit the many points of inter- 
est or transact business at some of the other De- 
partments while in Washington. 



PATENTS 



Selection of 

Attorneys 



The Commissioner of Patents says 
in the Rules of Practice: 



"As the value of patents depends 
largely upon the careful preparation 
of the specifications and claims, the assistance of competent 
counsel ivill, in most cases, be of ad'vantage to the applicant; 
but the value of their services ivill be proportionate to their 
skill and honesty, and too much care cannot be exercised in 
their selection." 

Or, in other words, when you desire to secure a patent, 
employ an attorney that knows how. It is a fact that the 
heads of most of the patent firms that do extensive advertis- 
ing have never prepared or prosecuted an appJication for 
patent and have no knowledge whatever of patent practice. 
The work is done entirely by clerks, or farmed out to young 
and inexperienced attorneys at a few dollars a case. 

You should use the same care in selecting an attorney 
that you would in deciding upon a physician to treat yourself 
or some member of your family. Your selection of a doctor 
would certainly not be influenced in any way by various 
offers of "something for nothing" or by beautiful guarantee 
certificates, or a large quantity of cheap literature. Don't 
intrust your patent business to some poorly-paid, inexpe- 
rienced clerk, or some pension or land attorney who has, 
through failure of his own business, styled himself a patent 
attorney, but who is without knowledge of patent practice. 

Every case you send to this office receives our personal 
attention. Every patent procured through our office contains 
all that could possibly be secured for the inventor, and is 
the result of careful study and conscientious effort. 



The Basis on which 

We do Business 



There is a real estate 
firm in Washington 
which advertises: 
Honest Deahngs in Realty." Our motto is 
"Honest Dealings in Patent Matters." We feel 
an interest in every case placed in our hands that 
extends beyond the amount of the fee received. 
Soliciting patents vi^ith us is a profession, not a 
business. We have a pride in our professional 
standing. We give inventors our honest opinion 
in every instance, whether it is dollars in or dollars 
out of our pockets. It is our endeavor to secure 
for the inventor all to which he is entitled. We 
can attend to any matters relating to patents, either 
in the Patent Office or the Courts, personally. 
We are not dependent upon others to do any part 
of the work, as our knowledge and experience ex- 
tend over all branches of the profession. 



PATENTS 



A patent may be obtained 

** "^ by any person (man, woman 

Obtain a Patent ^^ ^^-^^^ ^.^-^^^ ^^ ^^-^^^ ^j^^ 

has invented or discovered any new and useful art, 
machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, 
or any new and useful improvement thereof, not 
known or used by others in this country before his 
invention or discovery thereof, and not patented or 
described in any printed publication in this or any 
other country before his invention or discovery 
thereof, or more than two years prior to his appli- 
cation, and not patented in a country foreign to 
the United States on an application filed more than 
twelve months before his application ; and not in 
public use or on sale in the United States for more 
than two years prior to his application. 



Value of 
A Patent 



The vitality of a patent is in its 
claims. No matter how elaborate 
and ornate the drawings, or how 
comprehensive or well-written the specification or 
description of the invention, if the claims are not 
drawn to properly cover the essential features of the 
invention, the patent is worthless. 

A patent in order to be valid must contain a 
sufficient illustration and description of the inven- 
tion to enable any one skilled in the art to which 
it appertains to make and use it. The claims, 
however, are the measure of the inventor^ s protection. 
This is a point upon which the inventor is not 
ordinarily well informed, and this is unfortunately 
too often taken advantage of by unscrupulous 
patent attorneys. 



PATENTS 



Claii 



To properly draw a claim requires a 
thorough knowledge of patent law and 
patent practice. Whatever of your invention is not 
covered by the claims is free to be used by the public. 
During our practice before the Patent Office, we 
have seen many patents that were worthless by rea- 
son of narrow, non-protecting claims. The inclusion 
in a claim of non-essential details that can be ma- 
terially changed or omitted altogether in a machine 
by any mechanic, or the couching of the claim in 
! j limiting language, frequently takes from the inventor 
1 that rewardof genius andlabortowhich heis entitled. 
If your invention is a valuable one, you may be sure 
that as soon as the patent issues, there will be much 
study on the part of parties desiring to reap the bene- 
fits of the invention without paying anything there- 
for, to devise some means to avoid your claims, and 
thus use the essential features of your invention 
without being liable as infringers. Their success in 
this attempted steal of the invention depends upon 
the strength of your claims. Many inventors think 
thatif a patent is granted, the invention is protected. 
This, as stated hereinbefore, is not true. If all that 
an attorney asks for is a narrow, non-protecting 
claim, the Patent Office will give it to him. 



PATENT STEPS 

Step Patentability 

\^0' 1 Preliminary Examination 

The first step to be taken is to ascertain whether or not 
the invention is new and patentable, and to this end what is 
known as a preliminary examination should be made. In 
this connection, too much emphasis cannot be laid upon 
two points : 

1st. The importance of a preliminary examination, and 
2nd. The importance of thorough examination by a compe- 
tent attorney. 

Before discussing these two points, we will explain fully 
what a preliminary examination is. To date over 850,000 
patents have been issued, covering the various arts, and 
copies of all these patents are arranged in the Patent Office 
in classes and sub-classes. In order to make a preliminary 
search to ascertain whether or not a given invention is new 
and patentable, the attorney goes to the Patent Office and 
calls for the particular sub-classes in which similar inventions 
are classified, and examines each patent carefully. When 
this examination is completed, he is in a position to advise 
his client respecting the chances of securing a patent on his 
invention. 



PATENTS 



Importance of 
Preliminary 

Examination 



The importance of a prelim- 
inary examination will be fully 
appreciated by the inventor 
when he considers the large 
number of patents that have 
been granted in every art, and is made aware of the fact that 
should a patent be refused by the Patent Office, the Govern- 
ment filing fee of $15 is not refunded. Ascertain by having 
an examination made whether the invention is patentable be- 
fore filing an application, and you will be money in pocket. 

Many attorneys 
hire at a few dollars 
Importance of a a week, young boys 

Thorou^li Examination to make their prelim- 

by a Competent Attorney Jnary examinations, 
and decide the question of patentability upon the patents 
found by these boys in their searches. The vital question of 
patentability is therefore really decided by these inexperienced 
boys, some of them just out of school, as the patents selected 
by them as bearing upon the invention are the result of their 
judgment in a matter of which they have little or no knowl- 
edge. The attorney may be capable of deciding whether your 
invention is patentable over the references brought to him by 
his searchers, but he does not know what far closer patents 



^ 



Importance of a Thorough Examination by a Competent 
Attorney (Cont'd) 

may be in the Patent Office which said clerks have not select- 
ed, either because they have made careless searches, or be- 
cause through lack of training in patent matters, have not 
grasped the full significance of. Upon a preliminary exam- 
ination you stake your money, your time, and your hopes. 
Be sure it is reliable. You want your physician to correctly 
diagnose your case if you are sick — if you have an invention 
you want your attorney's opinion as to patentability to be 
just as reliable — it can't be unless he has made an honest 
preliminary examination. 

The charge made for this preliminary examination by 
responsible attorneys is $5, which amount, if the invention is 
new and patentable, is credited as a part of the attorney's 
fee for preparing and prosecuting the application, in which 
case you have the examination without additional cost. If 
the invention is found not to be patentable, the $5 charged, 
remunerates the attorney for his expenditure of time and skill 
in making the examination and reimburses him for the cost 
of copies of the interfering patents which are forwarded to 
inventor with the report as to patentability. This is not an 
unreasonable charge, when you consider that often hundreds 
of patents must be examined in making a preliminary exam- 
ination and frequently a day or a large part thereof consumed. 



PATENTS 



Importance o{ a Thorough Examination by a Competent 
Attorney (Cont'd* 

A number of attorneys are advertising free opinions as 
to patentability. Mr. Inventor, did you ever get anything 
really worth having for nothing? There is always a colored 
gentleman in the woodpile in something-for-nothing schemes, 
and this is true in connection with "free opinions as to 
patentability," the sole purpose of which is to lead the in- 
ventor to believe that he is getting for nothing the preliminary 
examination for which reliable attorneys charge $5. Does he 
get it ? Read carefully their patent literature and you will 
see that the opinion that they are to give for nothing is not 
based on a search through patents granted in the art to which 
the invention appertains, but merely upon their knowledge of 
the art. 850,000 patents issued ! What a human prodigy 
an attorney would be who could carry in his mind the struc- 
tures described and claimed in 850,000 patents! Such an 
opinion is absolutely worthless and this is fully appreciated 
by the attorneys themselves for all of them either state in 
their patent books, or write the inventor that "while in our 
opinion (thus and so) , we wciuld advise a special search at 
a cost of $5." The sole object of the free-opinion offer is to 
get into correspondence with an inventor and secure from him 
his model, description and drawings of his invention with 
the idea that having gone that far, he is not likely to refuse 




©b 



Importance of a Thorough Examination by a Competent 
Attorney (Cont'd) 

to pay his $5, when they spring the special search or exam- 
ination on him. 

We charge nothing for the preliminary examination // 
the invention is patentable and you proceed ixith an appli- 
cation through our office. If the invention is not patentable, 
we charge $5 for the examination. We make a thorough 
examination and reliable report, accompanied by copies of 
the nearest patents found. We stand back of every exam- 
ination and opinion as to patentability made, and our re- 
sponsibility is such that we do not issue elaborate guarantee 
certificates as evidence thereof. If the inventor desires any- 
thing to frame and hang up, we will send him an art picture 
of some sort, which will certainly be more pleasing to the 
eye than one of the so-called "Guarantee Certificates," and 
equally as valuable so far as his invention is concerned. 

A foreign patent showing a similar device has the same 
force and effect as a U. S. patent, but the records of these 
foreign patents accessible to the attorney are not classified, so 
that to search through the same would be a lengthv and ex- 
pensive task. A preliminary examination cannot therefore be 
accepted as conclusive that the invention is new and patent- 
able, but it reduces the chances of failure to secure the patent 
to a minimum. 



PATENTS 



What the Inventor 

Should Furnish for a 

Preliminary Examination 



Send a plain 
drawingorsketch 
of the invention, 
together with a 
full and clear description, stating the objects and 
advantages. A model is usually not necessary. If, 
however, you have a model, it may be sent in place 
of a drawing or sketch. Remember, in disclosing 
the invention to your attorney, that he is not as 
familiar with it as you are. The drawing and de- 
scription should therefore be sufficiently clear to 
enable him to understand the construction and 
operation of the invention. A good plan is to letter 
the different parts of the invention in the sketch or 
sketches, giving the same part the same letter in 
each instance, and in the description refer to the 
parts by their indicating letters. In instructing us 
to make preHminary examination, remit $5, which, 
as stated, if the invention is new and patentable and 
you proceed with an application, will be credited 
on account of the attorney's fee. 



Step 



No. 



Favorable 
2 Report 



On receipt of a favorable 
report, upon your invention, 
instructions should be given to 
the attorney to proceed with 
the preparation of the application. Upon receipt of such in- 
structions the specification, claims and drawings will be 
promptly prepared and the application forwarded for approval 
and execution. We furnish the inventor in each case with 
an extra copy of the specification, claims and drawings for 
his own use. When instructing us to proceed with an appli- 
cation, remit $10 on account. See our schedule of fees, 
pages 30 and 31. 



Execution of 

Applications 



The application should be signed 
in the three places indicated and your 
signature in the one place witnessed 
by two witnesses. Take the oath be- 
fore a notary public or other official having a seal, and be 
sure that this seal is affixed. If the oath is taken before an 
officer not provided with a seal, his official character must 
be evidenced by a certificate from the clerk of a court of 
record or other proper officer having a seal. 

Always read carefully the description of the invention in 
connection with the drawing, and if you desire any changes 
or additions made, do not indicate the same directly upon 



PATENTS 



Execution of Applications (Cont'd) 

the original copy of the specification, but upon [a separate 
sheet, as often this necessitates recopying thereof where other- 
wise corrections could be made without the additional work. 

After the application is once filed in the Patent Office, 
no material changes can be made, so be sure it correctly sets 
forth your invention before it is filed. 

Return the application after it has been executed for filing, 
and accompany the same with a remittance covering the 
Government filing fee of $15, and the balance of the attorney's 
fee, amounting to $15, if you desire to pay it at this time. 
See schedule of fees, pages 30 and 31. 



If an unfavorable report is received. 
Unfavorable examine the copies of patents sent and 

„ , read carefully our reasons for deciding 

Report , . . , r , ■ 

that m view thereof the invention is not 

patentable. If after carefully considering the patents, you 

are of the opinion that there are material differences between 

these patents and your invention, write us fully, setting forth 

these differences clearly together with their advantages, and 

return the copies of patents. We will then go over the 

matter carefully, and give you our final opinion. 



Step 



Issuance 
l "^"-^ of Patent 



When you are noti- 
fied of the allowance 
of the patent, remit 
the Government final 
fee of $20. The inventor is allow^ed six months to 
pay this final fee of $20, and issue the patent, but 
as hereinbefore stated, it is not advisable to permit 
the apphcation to remain unissued in the Patent 
Office, as some one else may file an application for 
the same or substantially the same invention in 
vi^hich event your application w^ould be withdrawn 
from issue and placed in interference with the other 
application, and you would be involved in an ex- 
pensive interference proceeding. 

Patents issue and bear date nineteen days from 
the Thursday on which the final fee is paid, or, 
if not paid on a Thursday, from the next Thursday 
after such payment. Patents always issue on Tues- 
day, and the nineteen days are used by the Govern- 
ment in printing the specification andclaims, photo- 
lithographing the drawings, and preparing the grant. 



PATENTS 



JD 



This cannot be defi- 
Time Required to nitely Stated, as the Exam- 

Secure the Patent iners in the Patent Office 
are usually behind with 
their work (due mainly to an inadequate number 
of assistants), in some divisions from one to three 
months, and in others, even longer, and as each 
appHcation must await its turn to be examined, 
some little time must be consumed in securing the 
patent, the same depending upon the condition of 
work in the division to which the application is 
assigned, and upon the number of amendments 
necessary to secure claims which fully cover the 
invention. Last year we had several cases pending 
for seven months before receiving the first official 
action by the Office. However, this is not usual, 
and it is thought that, in view of the effort being 
now made by the Commissioner of Patents to keep 
up with the work, there will be less delay in the 
future. 

All cases placed in our hands are pushed for- 
ward to a termination as rapidly as is possible, 
consistent with good work and careful attention to 
the best interests of the inventor. 



How an Application 

Is Prosecuted 



When an application is 
received in the Patent 
Office, after it is given a 
number, it is assigned to 
one of the forty-one examining divisions for exam- 
ination. Each examiner and his corps of assistants 
has assigned to him one or more classes of inven- 
tions. When your application is reached by the 
examiner, it is taken up for examination and a 
search is made to ascertain whether there is any 
prior patent or patents showing the construction 
specified in the claims of the application. The case 
is then acted upon, the examiner allowing or re- 
jecting the claims, some of which may be allowed 
and others rejected. Where a rejection of a claim 
is made, the number of the patent relied upon is 
given. Some times all of the claims are allowed on 
the first action and the case at once passes to issue, 
but this is not usual where broad claims are pre- 
sented. 

Upon receipt of the official action it is the 
attorneys business to answer the same by the proper 
amendments and argument. 



12 



PATENTS 



The case having been acted 
Amendments upon, we secure copies of all pat- 
ents cited by the examiner in re- 
jection of the claims, and make a careful study of 
the same. If we are convinced that they show the 
construction called for by the rejected claims, these 
claims are either amended by changing the wording 
to avoid the patents, or by canceUing them and in- 
serting new ones. If we are not convinced that 
the claims are met, we ask for a reconsideration 
and present an argument in support of our con- 
tention. Where necessary or desirable, we take up 
the case personally with the Examiner. 

The Examiner then considers the case in con- 
nection with the amendment and argument, and 
again acts on it, either rejecting or allowing the 
claims, or some of them. This is repeated until 
the claims that the examiner is wiUing to allow are 
acceptable to us (in which event we proceed to 
have the case formally allowed), or until the exam- 
iner finally refuses to allow the claims to which we 
think the inventor is entitled, in which case we 
advise an appeal. 



Appeals 



An appeal lies from the decision of the Ex- 
aminer as to patentability, first to the 
'Board of Examiners-in-Chief 
Second, from this tribunal to the 

Commissioner of Patents, and 
Third, from the decision of the Commissioner to the 

Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. 

We prepare all necessary papers for these several appeals 
and argue the case in person before these tribunals, and also 
where necessary or desirable, submit carefully prepared briefs. 

The costs and fees for appeals will be stated when an 
appeal is necessary, or upon application. 

Usually by proper presentation of a case, ail that the in- 
ventor is entitled to can be secured without appeal. 

Appeals may also be taken to the Board of Examiners-in- 
Chief, Commissioner of Patents, and Court of Appeals of the 
District of Columbia from the decision of the Examiner of In- 
terferences, in cases involved in an interference proceeding. 

Any proper question which has been twice 
Petitions acted upon by the Examiner and which does not 
involve the merits of the invention claimed, the 
rejection of a claim, or a requirement for division of a case, 
may be taken to the Commissioner of Patents, without the 
payment of any Government fee. Our fee for taking petitions 
to the Commissioner will be stated when such action is 
necessary, or upon application. 



PATENTS 



Where several independent and distinct in- 
Division ventions are claimed in a single application, 
the inventor will be required to limit the de- 
scription, drawings and claims, to whichever invention he 
may elect. New applications may be filed covering the in- 
ventions divided out of the original case. 

In event of the death of the inventor, be- 
Death of fore application, the latter can onlybemade 

Inventor by the executor or administrator, to whom 
the patent will issue. Should the inventor 
die after the application is made, but prior to the issuance of 
the patent, the patent will be issued to the executor or ad- 
ministrator. The death of an inventor terminates at once 
the power of attorney given by him to his attorney to prose- 
cute the application. 



Where two parties work together to 
produce an invention, each contributing 
his suggestions and efforts, a joint appli- 
cation should be made. A person fur- 
nishing capital only is not a joint inventor. 



Joint 

Inventors 



Extensions 



A patent cannot be extended be- 
yond the term of seventeen years ex- 
cept by act of Congress. Although a number of 
petitions for extensions of patents have been made 
to Congress within the past twenty-five years, not 
a single one has received favorable action. A patent 
is a monopoly and public sentiment is opposed to 
the extension of monopoHes. 



Models 



Models are no longer required to be 

filed with applications for patents. 

Where, however, the examiner finds it necessary 

or useful, he may require one to be filed. This 

requirement is rarely made. 

Models are often of assistance to an attorney 
in preparing the case, but are usually not necessary. 
Where a model is forwarded, be sure that it is sent 
prepaid, as we do no accept models sent 'collect." 



14 



PATENTS 



The invention must be fully and 
Drawings clearly illustrated by India-ink draw- 
ings made on sheets of Bristol board 
10 X 15 inches, in accordance with the require- 
ments of the Patent OfKce. We prepare all neces- 
sary drawings, the cost of the same being included 
in the attorney's fee named. We pride ourselves 
on our drawings. It is our endeavor to illustrate 
the invention by bold, finely-executed drawings and 
to this end we employ only expert draftsmen. We 
do not, however, in order to illustrate an invention 
relating, say, to harness, show a horse and wagon, 
a corn-field, a house and barn and a scare-crow. 
We have seen this done "to catch the inventor's 
eye." It also catches his money, as by filling the 
small sheet of bristol board with this entirely use- 
less illustration, more than one sheet of drawing is 
required at an extra $5 per sheet. We illustrate 
the invention fully, but do not spread the drawings 
in order to secure an extra fee by reason of addi- 



Drawin^s (Cont'd) 

tional sheets over the one included in the estimated 
cost of a simple case. 

Some attorneys arrange their fees in this 
manner — 

$25 
5 



Attorney's fee 

Official Patent Office drawing 



Total 



$30 



and by this device lead the inventor to believe that 
their total fee is $25 and that the charge of $5 for 
the drawing is one made by the Patent Office. As 
a matter of fact, the attorneys of this class usually 
pay a very small price for this drawing, so that the 
$5 nets them several dollars. We always supply the 
inventor with a blue or black and white print of the 
drawing, and furnish any number of additional 
prints or photo-lithographic copies, at a nominal 
price. 



< £ 




PATENTS 



^, It has been the practice of many 

, ^ attorneys and is now, to print in 

Invent _ ■' 

their patent booklets, a list of things 
to invent. This list is usually prepared by selecting 
a number of different articles from the Patent 
Office classification of inventions, and embraces 
such inventions as: 

A carpet stretcher for stretching carpets and 
holding them vv^hile being tacked. (There 
are now over 150 patents on devices of this 
character.) 

Something to take the place of shoe buttons 
and glove buttons that will be easy of attach- 
ment, cheap in manufacture, and which 
will hold the parts securely fastened. (There 
are now over 1100 patents on fasteners that 
meet all of these requirements.) 

Match-boxes that will permit of the removal 
of only one match at a time. (There are 
over 250 patents on such match-boxes.^ 



What to invent (Com dl 

The result of these lists has been to cause 
many persons to spend their time and labor to pro- 
duce something to meet what they naturally thought 
to be a long-felt want, and which they thought 
would be the first device of that character, but 
which in reality was one among many, and upon 
which a very limited patent only could be secured. 
Thus time, labor and money were expended and 
the only beneficiary was the attorney. 

We cannot tell you what to invent. We can 
say, however, that toys, novelties, household devices, 
and advertising novelties, usually net a good return, 
and are very easily handled. Inventors, however, 
usually invent along the line of their daily pursuits, 
and knowing the demands and requirements of the 
particular arts in which they are employed, need no 
suggestions as to what to invent. 



17 



PATENTS 



Copies of Patents 

And Official Gazette 



We will furnish 
copies of patents at ten 
cents each. Give the 
number of the patent desired, the invention, and 
where possible the name of the patentee and date 
of the patent. If you cannot give the number or 
date, the name of the patentee, the approximate 
date and the invention will be sufficient. 

The Official Gazette issues weekly and con- 
tains an illustration and claims of each patent issued 
during the week. The subscription price is $5 a 
year. We will furnish copies at 25 cents each. 

Often inventors and manufacturers desire to 
have copies of all patents forwarded to them that 
issue weekly relating to the subject or business in 
which they are interested. We will place your 
name on our Hst for this service, if requested, the 
charge above the cost of the copies being a 
nominal one. 



Abandoned, Forfeited and 

Renewed Applications 



Abandoned Applications. 
If proper response is not 
made by the applicant or 
his attorney to an action 
by the Patent Office in an application for patent within one 
year after the date of such official action, the application be- 
comes abandoned, and can only be revived as a pending 
application by showing to the satisfaction of the Commissioner 
that the delay in the prosecution of the case was unavoidable. 
The circumstances must be very exceptional to secure the res- 
toration of an application abandoned by failure to prosecute 
within the one year. If the Commissioner will not revive an 
abandoned case, it is necessary to file a new application, 
paying again the filing fee of $15. 

Forfeited Applications. A forfeited application is one 
in which the Government final fee has not been paid within 
the six months allowed after the official notice of the al- 
lowance of the patent. Forfeited applications may be renewed 
at any time within two years after the allowance of the original 
application by the payment of a second filing fee. The oath, 
petition, specifications, claims and drawings of the original 
application may be used for the renewal application. The 
renewal application is subject to examination in the same 
manner as an original application. 



18 



PATENTS 



„ A reissue patent is granted when 

Reissues , ■ ■ • 

the original patent is inoperative or 

invalid by reason of a defective or insufficient speci- 
fication, or by reason of the patentee claiming as 
his invention or discovery more than he had a right 
to claim as new, provided the error has arisen 
through inadvertence, accident, or mistake. 

A reissue is rarely necessary where a respon- 
sible, skilful attorney is employed in the first instance. 



Foreign patents may be applied for 
Foreign 

p , and obtained prior to making appli- 

cation in the United States, if so 
desired, provided the application in this country is 
filed within one year after the filing abroad. Valid 
foreign patents cannot be obtained in most countries 
after the issuance of the United States patent. 
There is ample time after the allowance of the 
patent in this country to file abroad, as the final 



Foreign Patents (Cont'd) 

fee may be paid at any time within six months after 
the official notice of allowance. 

The specification and claims of the foreign 
appHcations should be drawn in accordance with 
the foreign law and practice if a valid patent is 
desired. As stated before in the book, the cheapest 
is not the best, and it is poor pohcy to employ an 
attorney to attend to your foreign business merely 
because he quotes a low fee. 

We have responsible correspondents in all 
foreign countries to represent our clients before the 
foreign Patent Offices, and our foreign business is 
conducted on the same basis as our U. S. business, 
namely, the best service, and the most reasonable 
fees consistent with such service. 

Full information respecting foreign patents and 
costs furnished on application. 



PATENTS 



Interference 
Proceedings 



An interference is a proceeding 
instituted for tlie purpose of determin- 
ing which of two or more parties, 
claiming substantially the same pat- 
entable invention is entitled to the patent. 

The proceeding may be declared between two or more 
applications containing conflicting claims, or between an 
application and a patent. 

Sometimes two inventors in different parts of the United 
States invent substantially the same invention and file appli- 
cations thereon, in which case, by means of the interference 
proceeding, the Patent Office determines to which of the in- 
ventors the patent should be granted. One of the inventors 
may have secured a patent, but this does not prevent the in- 
ventor whose application is pending from contesting the right 
to the invention, provided he shall file an affidavit and make 
the proper showing that he made the invention prior to the 
date of filing of the patentee's application. 

An interference may also be declared between an original 
application and a reissue application, or between two reissue 
applications. The number of applications involved in inter- 
ference proceedings as compared with the number of patents 
granted yearly is very small, so that while it is possible that 
you may be involved in such a proceeding, yet the chances are 
very slight. 



Oc . . The fee for preparmg and 

ur Services in • i- .• j 

prosecutmg an application does 

Interference Cases not cover an interference. We 
have had large experience in 
interference proceedings and offer expert service at moderate 
fees. Do not intrust your case to any one not thoroughly 
acquainted with patent practice unless you want to run the 
chance of seeing the other man granted a patent to which 
you may be entitled, and which you would have obtained 
had your case been properly prepared and presented. 

The fact that one attorney has failed to 
Rejected secure the allowance of an application for 

Cases patent is by no means conclusive that the 
invention is not patentable, as often appli- 
cations which one man has prosecuted without success may be 
presented in such manner by another as to receive favorable 
consideration. If you have such an application pending, 
fill in the blank "Authority to Inspect" on the opposite page, 
and forward it to us. We will examine the case and give 
you our honest opinion as to the chances of securing a patent, 
and at the same time, if our opinion is favorable, will state 
the fee for which we will take up the case and prosecute it to 
a successful termination. For this examination we will make 
no charge. Should you then decide to place the matter in 
our hands, fill in the blank "Power of Attorney" on the 
opposite page and the case will be taken up at once and sub- 
mitted for further consideration with the proper amendments 
and argument. 



Power of Attorney 

Hon. Commissioner of Patents 

Sir:— I hereby appoint BEVANS & BEVANS 
(James W. Bevans and William H. Bevans) 

Colorado Bldg., Washington, D. C, Registered 
Patent Attorneys No. 8197, my attorney, with full 
power of substitution and revocation, to prosecute 
my appHcation for patent on 

filed Serial No , 

to make amendments and alterations therein, to 
sign the drawings, to receive the patent, and to 
transact all business in the Patent Office connected 
therewith. All former powers of attorney granted 
by me are hereby revoked. 



Signed at.. 
this 



.day of. 



190.. 



Authority to Inspect 



Hon. Commissioner of Patents 



Sir:— Permit BEVANS & BEVANS (James 
W. Bevans and William H. Bevans) Colorado 

Bldg., Washington, D. C, Registered Attorneys 
No. 8197, to inspect my application for patent on 

filed on or about 

Serial No 

Respectfully, 
Dated at , 



CAVEATS-DESIGNS 



Caveats 



When an invention has not been fully per- 
fected, the inventor may avail himself of the 
protection afforded by a caveat, which protection 
consists in notice from the Patent Office during 
the life of the caveat of the filing of an application for patent 
by anyone on the same or substantially the same invention, 
and the allowance of three months' time within which to file 
a patent application in order that an interference may be de- 
clared to decide to whom the patent should be granted. A 
caveat must consist of a description of the invention, oath and 
drawing. A receipt is issued by the Patent Office, and the 
papers are filed in the confidential archives. The life of a 
caveat is one year, but it may be renewed each year by the 
payment of another caveat fee of $10. A caveat confers no 
rights and affords no protection except as to notice of an 
interfering patent application filed during its life, giving the 
opportunity of proving priority of invention. By the mere 
filing of a caveat, the inventor is not privileged to mark his 
invention when manufactured either "Patent Pending" or 
"Patent Applied For." 

Our fee for a caveat is $10, $5 of which is payable when 
instructions are given to prepare the case, and the remaining 
$5 when the papers are returned for filing. 



Design patents are granted to cover any 
Design new, original and ornamental design, and 

Patents protect the shape, configuration or ornamen- 
tation of an article. The design sought to 
be protected must be artistic or ornamental. Under this form 
of protection, many articles may be covered, as for instance: 
Articles of Furniture, Glassware, Statuary, Pottery, 
Bas-Relief, Alto-Relievo Work, Printing Designs for 
Fabrics, Ornaments, Jewelry, Machine Elements or 
Parts, Stoves, etc. 
Patents for designs are granted for three and one-half 
years, seven, or fourteen years, as the applicant may in his 
application select. 

The application must contain a description of the de- 
sign and a claim, and must be accompanied by a drawing 
showing clearly the design claimed. 

The Government fees for design patents are : for three 
and one-half years, $10, seven years, $15, and fourteen years, 
$30. Our fee, regardless of the term for which the patent is 
to be granted, is $25 which includes one sheet of drawing 
and preliminary examination, which fee is payable, $5 when 
instructions are given to make preliminary examination, $5 
when we are instructed to prepare the case, and balance of 
$15 when case is returned for filing. See our schedule of 
fees, pages 30 and 31. 



Copyrights— Trade Marks 



A copyright may be obtained by the 
author, designer, editor or proprietor of any 
t^opyngnts book, map, chart, dramatic or musical 
composition, engraving, cut, print or photo- 
graph or negative thereof, or a painting, drawing, chromo, 
statuary, model or design intended to be perfected as works 
of fine art. 



Duration. A copyright is granted for twenty-eight 
years, with privilege of renewal for fourteen years. 



Necessary Information for Application. All that we 
require is the title of the work to be copyrighted, and whether 
said work is abook, pamphlet, map, painting, etc., together 
with your full name and address, the country of which you 
are a citizen, and a statement whether you claim as author, 
designer, editor and proprietor, and whether the work is to be 
produced or printed in the Uuited States, from type produced 
or set up in the United States or from plates made from such 

type. 

Cost. The total cost is $5, including our fee and the 
Government fee. We can quote lower charges where more 
than one case is filed at the same time. 



Trade 

Marks 



The owner of a trade mark used 
in commerce with foreign nations, 
or among the several states, or with 
Indian tribes, may register his trade mark in the 
Patent Office by complying with the requirements 
of the law and Rules of Practice provided in such 
cases. 



Term of 

Trade Mark 



The term for which a trade 
mark is registered is twenty years, 
which term may be extended for 
a like period by the payment of the proper fee and 
the filing of a request for such renewal, not more 
than six months prior to the expiration of the term 
for which the certificate was issued or renewed. 
The certificate may be renewed as many times as 
desired, each renewal continuing in force for 
twenty years. 



TRADE MARKS 



Application for 

Registration 



An application duly executed 
must be filed, drawn in accordance 
with the requirements of the law 
and Rules of Practice, and accom- 
panied by an India-ink representation of the mark on bristoi- 
board of the size specified by the Patent Office in such cases 
together with five specimens or facsimiles of the mark. We 
prepare all papers and the India ink facsimile. The cut on 
the opposite page shows the character of the India-ink fac- 
similes prepared in our office. 

After the application has been examined and the mark 
found to be registerable, the attorneys are notified, and the 
mark published in the Official Gazette. If no opposition is 
lodged by anyone within thirty days after such publication, 
the certificate of registration is prepared and issued. 



1. Ten facsimiles of the mark. 

2. Whether mark is used in com- 
merce between the several 
states, or between the United 

specifying the latter) or both. 
Class of goods on which used. 
Length of use of mark. 
Place of business. 

If a firm, give members thereof and name of member 
who will execute the papers. 

If a corporation, state where incorporated and give 
name and title of person who will execute the papers. 



What to Furnish 
Attorney 

States and foreign nations, 
3. 

4. 
5. 
6. 





b 



I. A mark consisting of or 
What May Not comprising immoral or scandalous 

_ , matter. 

Be Kegistered 

II. A mark consisting of or 

comprising the flag or coat of arms or other insignia of the 

United States, or any simulation thereof, or of any state or 

municipality or of any foreign nation. 

III. A mark consisting merely in the name of an indi- 
vidual, firm, corporation or association, not written, printed, 
impressed or woven in some particular or distinctive manner 
or in association with the portrait of the individual. 

IV. Words or devices which are merely descriptive of 
the goods with which they are used, or of the character or 
quality thereof. 

V. A geographical name or term. 

VI. A mark which is identical with a mark owned and 
in use by another appropriated to merchandise of the same 
descriptive properties, or which so nearly resembles a registered 
or known trade mark owned and in use by another and 
appropriated to merchandise of the same descriptive proper- 
ties as to be likely to cause confusion or mistake in the mind 
of the public, or to deceive purchasers. 



25 



TRADE MARKS 



The value of a trade mark is 
Value of a j-qq ^g}} known to require any 

Trade Mark discussion. The most valuable 
asset of a business is often the trade mark or trade 
marks under which the articles manufactured or 
sold have become familiar to the many buyers of 
this and perhaps foreign countries. Can you figure 
the value of the trade mark "Ivory," as applied to 
soap ? Suppose the makers of this soap had no 
property right in the word Ivory" as applied to 
soap, what would be the result? The market would 
soon be flooded with"Ivory Soaps, "and even if these 
imitations were of the same sterling value as the 
genuine "Ivory," the originators of the latter would 
be compelled to share the demand that they, with 
an enormous expenditure of time and money, have 
created, with others who have expended perhaps, 
not a single dollar. This result, however, would be 
even worse, were the imitations of the genuine 
"Ivory Soap" of inferior quality, for the demand 
for Ivory Soap would soon cease, as the public 
would want no soap bearing that name. 



^ 



The total Government fee is $10, 

and our fee $15, making the total cost 
Fees 

of registration $25, which is payable as 
follows : $5 when instructions are given to make 
application, and $20 when application is returned 
for filing in the Patent OfKce. 

We always make a search to ascertain whether 
the mark has been registered to some one else for 
use on goods of the same descriptive properties. If 
this search develops the fact that the mark cannot 
be registered by reason of prior registrations, we 
charge $5 for the service rendered. If no interfer- 
ing marks are found and you proceed with an 
application, no charge is made for the search. 



TRADE MARKS 



SPHINX 

The Diamond Rubber Co. 




OM 



rr. 




The B. Makover Co. 



The Wise Furnace Co. 




The Berry Hill Mineral 
Spring Co. of Va. 



GULF 



The Diamond Rubber Co. 



27 



PRINTS and LABELS 




is an artistic or intellectual production 
A Print designed to be used for an article of 
manufacture and in some fashion pertaining thereto, 
but not borne by it, such as an advertisement thereof 
of artistic character. 

is a similar production impressed or 
A Label stamped directly on an article of manu- 
facture, or upon a separate piece of paper or other 
material to be attached to the article, or to bottles, 
boxes and packages containing the same, to indi- 
cate the contents, name of manufacturer, quality 
of goods, directions for use, etc. 

Both labels and prints must be registered, if 
registration is desired, before use or publication. 

The term for which the registration is granted 
is twenty-eight years, and it may be extended for 
a further period of fourteen years. 



Prints and Labels ^Cont'd) 



Prints and lables are assignable, and the assign- 
ments should be recorded in the Patent OfHce 
within sixty daj'S after execution. 

After registration, a notice may be given there- 
of either by merely printing the word "Registered" 
on the print or label or by some such notice as 
'Warning ! This print(or label) has been registered 
according to law. Infringers will be prosecuted." 

Our total charge for registering a print or 
label, including Government Fee, is $15. A re- 
duction will be made in this fee where a number 
of prints or labels are registered at the same time. 

We should be furnished with the name and 
residence of the applicant, and eight copies of the 
print or label. 



Assignments, Licenses, etc. 



An assignment is the transfer of the 
Assignments whole interest in a patent, or an un- 
divided portion thereof, extending to 
every portion of the United States. Assignments must be 
written or printed and duly signed. They need not be 
acknowledged before a notary public or other officer. Assign- 
ments may be made before the issuance of a patent, in which 
case the Commissioner should be authorized and directed to 
issue the patent to the assignee, or jointly to the inventor and 
the assignee, in the case of an assignment of an interest only. 

A grant is the exclusive right under a patent 
Grant to make, use, and sell and to grant to others 

the right to make, use and sell, the thing pat- 
ented within and throughout some specified part of the 
United States. Grants differ from assignments, in that the 
right conveyed does not extend to the whole United States. 
Grants should also be written or printed and duly signed. 



A license is a conveyance of a right under a 

License patent which does not amount to an assignment 

or a grant. It is a license if it does not convey 

the entire and unqualified monopoly or undivided interest 

therein throughout all the entire territory to which it refers. 




db 



An assignment or grant is void as 
Recording • ^ , , , 

agamst any subsequent purchaser or 

mortgagee for a valuable consideration without 
notice, unless recorded in the Patent Office within 
three months from the date thereof. 

A licence is not required to be recorded, and 
no record of a license effects the rights of any 
person, as a Hcense holds good against the world, 
whether recorded or not. 

Our fee for an assignment or grant, 
including the recording fee, is $5. 
For a license our fee varies according to the 
skill and work required. Generally stated, the fee 
ranges from $10 to $25. 

Always state full name of the party to whom 
the assignment is to be made, his residence, and 
the interest to be conveyed. If a corporation, the 
state in which incorporated and the place of busi- 
ness. 



29 



FEES— HOW PAYABLE 



Mechaaical Patent 



$ 5 
10 
15 

$30 



$15 
20 

$35 



OUR FEE 



When search is authorized. 

When instructions are given to prepare case. 

When case is returned for filing. 

Total, including search, one sheet of drawing, 
and the preparation and prosecution of the case. 



GOVERNMENT FEES 

Filing fee. 

Final fee, payable at any time within six months 

after the official notice of allowance. 

Total Government fees. 

$65 - Total cost of patent. 

Our $30 fee applies to case requiring but one sheet of 
drawing to illustrate. For each additional sheet, we increase 
our fee $5, which covers the extra cost of drawing, and the 
additional work involved in preparing and prosecuting. 



If you do not desire to pay our fee in the manner above ^ 
outlined, advise us and we will g'ive you our special fee plan. 



Design Patents 



OUR FEE 



$ 5 
10 
10 

$25 



When search is authorized. 

When instructions are given to prepare case. 

When case is returned for filing. 

Total, including search, one sheet for drawing, 

and preparation and prosecution of the case. 

For each additional sheet, $5. 



GOVERNMENT FEES 

Total cost - $35 
Total cost - 40 

Total cost - 55 

In design patents, there are no final Government fees. 



2'/2 years 


$10 


7 years 


15 


14 years 


30 



If you do not desire to pay our fee in the manner above 
outlined, advise us and we will give you our special fee plan. 



FEES— HOW PAYABLE 



Caveats 

$ 5 
5 

iio 

10 
$20 




OUR FEE 

When instructions are given to pre- 
pare case. 

When case is returned for fihng. 

Total. 

Government fee. 

Total cost. 



If you do not desire to pay our fee in the manner above 
outlined, advise us and we will g'ive you our special fee plan. 




^ 



Trade M 


arks 




OUR FEE 


$ 5 


- When search is at 


10 


- When case is retu 


$15 


- Total. 


10 


- Government fee. 


$25 


- Total cost. 



If you do not desire to pay our fee in the manner above 
outlined, advise us and we will give you our special fee plan. 



31 



Validity and Infringement 




The question of in- 
validity and ! ■ . • ^u 4. 
■' rnngement is one that 
Infringement Opinions ^^^ ^^^ ^^ determined 

by an attorney skilled in patent law and mechanics. 
Our Mr. James W. Bevans has rendered many in- 
fringement opinions in important cases, and by his 
association with Mr. W. H. Bevans has the assist- 
ance of a mechanical expert of recognized ability. 
In purchasing a patent, the question of prob- 
able infringement and the validity of the patent 
should be ascertained. The question of the 
validity of a patent in view of the prior art arises in 
many different connections. We make the proper 
investigations and render reliable opinions on the 
question of validity and infringement at moderate 
fees. 

We institute or defend infringement 
Suits suits, preparing bills of complaints, answers, 
etc., furnishing expert testimony, and at- 
tending to all necessary matters connected there- 
with. We are equipped to give our clients the very 
best service in patent litigation. 



It is not necessary for an 
Visiting 

Washington inventor to visit Washington 

for the purpose of taking up his case in person 
with the attorney, as all matters pertaining thereto 
can be attended to by correspondence. We are 
always glad, however, to have a personal acquaint- 
ance with our clients, and if therefore you desire 
to come to Washington to transact your business 
in person, we will be pleased to have you call on us. 
We would suggest that if possible, you write or 
telegraph, making an appointment. 



Fortunes from Lucky Ideas 



[Reprinted from New York Sun] 

Some valuable inventions hit upon accidentally. 

A hen discovered how to make sudar white and a do^ 

^ave us the art of dyeing. Women prominent as 

inventors. Eccentricities of the Patent Office. 



Whenever a new patent comes out, especially some little 
thing that anybody might have made, you will always hear 
the remark: "Why couldn't I have thought of that?" 
Fortunes are made from even the most trivial contrivances. 
A man walked from Philadelphia to Washington to patent 
the gimlet pointed screw, and the simple idea eventually 
earned him more than a million dollars. The rubber tip on 
the end of lead pencils made its inventor rich. The metal 
point on the end of your shoe string earned a fortune for the 
woman who thought of it, and the copper cap that so long 
adorned the toes of children's shoes earned $2,000,000 for 
the lucky person who patented it. 

Many valuable inventions were hit upon in a most acci- 
dental way. The art of making sugar white was discovered 
by a harmless old speckled hen. This feathered matron one 
day went for a walk through a field of clay and later without 
taking the precaution to wipe her feet walked through a sugar 



h 



mill on the same plantation, scattering clay over the loose 
mounds of sugar as she passed. Afterward it was discovered 
that wherever her tracks had fallen on the moist sugar the 
clay had whitened it. Scientists took up the matter and from 
this incident introduced the method of bleaching sugar by 
the clay process. 

A dog gave us the art of dyeing cloth. One afternoon 
so many years ago, that the date is of small consequence, a 
noted man and his sweetheart went for a walk along the 
sands of the seashore in a far off country. A little dog trailed 
along at their heels and becoming weary of much love mak- 
ing finally ran ahead and went fishing among the rocks. 
One particular shell fish which he captured and devoured 
exuded a fluid which dyed the hair about his mouth a pretty 
purple. Investigation of this incident founded the science 
of dyeing cloth. 

A man from Michigan was told by the doctors to take 
his wife South for her health. He purchased a big wagon 
and team for the trip, and thought to make some profit, by 
carrying a stock of feather dusters to sell along the way. 
One day he went to the factory where his dusters were being 
made and while standing in the yard talking to one of the 
employees picked up from the ground one of the "strutters" 
or tail feathers from a turkey — the refuse from the duster 
factory. He began idly twisting a thread back and forth 



LOFC. 



Fortunes from Lucky Ideas 



through its broken edges, and the idea of the featherbone 
came to him. The featherbone is the successor of whalebone, 
and is indispensable to the attire of the modern women. He 
patented the idea and received so much money from it that 
he will never have to travel overland in a wagon again unless 
he wants to. 

A man standing in front of the post office in Washington 
bent a small piece of tin in his fingers until it took the shape 
of a T. "This would make a good paper fastener," he re- 
marked to the man with whom he was talking, and he 
straightway had the idea patented. Another man made 
money from the device of an imbedded string in the end of 
an envelope to cut the paper as it is drawn out. Still another 
man added to this idea by tying a knot in the end of the 
string to keep it from being drawn through. 

It is interesting to note how man has borrowed many of 
his ideas from the animal world. Wasps made paper from 
wood long before man did. The folding scissors and folding 
pocket compass are only copies of the folding lower jaw of 
the dragon fly. The flying squid, a species of cuttlefish, has 
a way of projecting itself as high as twelve feet above the 
surface of the water by forcibly expelling water from its body. 
Man saw this and invented the skyrocket. The rope making 
machine used in the United States navy yards follows almost 
the precise lines that a spider does when making his own 
frail cable. 



Women have been prominent in the field of invention 
and there are more than 3,500 different devices credited to 
their ingenuity. Of the list of things invented by women 
about 90 per cent, are devoted to the home, the kitchen and 
to dress. The first patent given a woman in the nineteenth 
century was granted to Mary Kier in 1809 for "straw weav- 
ing with silk or thread" — the probable forerunner of Amer- 
ican matting. One of the most recent invention by woman is 
a shoestring that won't come untied. 

The records of the Patent Office show how some people 
have invaded the field of invention with most eccentric ideas. 
An invention called the "anti-snoring device" is something 
similar to a telephone. No sooner does the sleeper begin to 
snore than the sound is transmitted to his own ear, causing 
him to awake at once. Another ambitious inventor has 
brought out a machine which will automatically tip a man's 
hat when he passes a woman acquaintance on the street. 

A woman is responsible for a patent crimping pin that 
can be used as a paper cutter, a skirt supporter, a paper file, 
a bouquet holder, a safety pin, a shawl fastener and a book 
mark. There is a patent churn that rocks the baby's cradle ; 
a pocketbook that combines a pistol, so that when the high- 
wayman demands your money or your life you can send him 
to kingdom come while in the seeming act of handing him 
your valuables. 



Fortunes from Lucky Ideas 



The story is told of an Iowa man who patented an India 
rubber sidewalk. After much lobbying with his friends 
among the town council he was allowed to put down several 
yards of it as an experiment. As a noise absorber it proved 
most effective, and the early demonstrations seemed to be 
living down all scepticism in regard to it so rapidly that the 
inventor's fortune was all but made. 

Then the inventor made a blunder. To show how solid 
and strong it was he began jumping up and down on it with 
its whole weight. The walk could not forget that it was still 
rubber, and when the ambitious inventor planked his heels 
into it he was promptly pitched over the fence into a brier 
patch. The episode proved such a joke that the budding 
popularity of tlie new idea began to wane, and there are still 
no rubber sidewalks in Iowa. 

Another happy idea that came to grief was the adjust- 
able pulpit brought out by a Texas inventor. An observing 
member of a certain congregation in the Lone Star State 
noticed that some of the preachers were tall and some were 
short, so he conceived the idea of making an adjustable 
pulpit which would accommodate itself to all heights. The 
first preacher to use the automatic device was a short man, 
and the inventor was on hand and took his measure to a 
nicety. Later when a six foot pastor came on the inventor 
had the grip and could not go to church. 



The pulpit was set for his short predecessor and nobody 
could do a thing with it. The inventor had insisted that his 
device was easy enough to manipulate, but it proved most 
stubborn and would not submit to a readjustment. The tall 
man started in with it, and it was so low that in reading 
his text he had to stoop over almost as much as if his book 
were placed on a chair. When he began to preach he was 
getting along well enough until he suddenly stamped his 
foot to emphasize a point. His action released the spring in 
the floor and the pulpit shot upward until it completely hid 
the preacher from the view of his hearers. The remainder of 
his sermon sounded about the same as if he had been in a wel 1 . 

Thomas Jefferson may be termed the "Father of the 
Patent Office," for it was he who saw to the passing of the 
act creating the office and the copyright system. Foranumber 
of years he was one of the Committee who passed on the merits 
of all designs submitted to the office. One Dr. Thornton, a 
rather eccentric man, was the only department clerk the office 
had for a long period. In the war of 1812, when the British 
soldiers had a cannon trained on the Patent Office to destroy 
it the doctor rushed out and placed his body before the mouth 
of the cannon, exclaiming that if Goths and Vandals would 
destroy a building containing models that would benefit all 
the world the ball must first go through his body. It was 
spared, but in 1836 the Office was burned and the only thing 
saved was a book of no particular value. 



Patent Granted to Abraham Lincoln 



J^^^ 




^i^. S. 




_^^ &. 




!Z! 
M 

O • 

M 

S I-" 

P> <( ^ 
<^ w 

O 00 

tj eg 



36 



Lincoln Patent 




THE drawing on the opposite page illustrates an invention patented 
in 1849 to Abraham Lincoln. The object of the invention, as 
stated in the Patent, was to provide adjustable buoyant airchambers for 
steam or other vessels by means of which their draught of water might be 
lessened so as to enable them to pass over bars, or through shallow waters 
without discharging their cargoes. 

The invention consisted in providing the boat on each side with 
chambers A, having a top g, and bottom h of plank or metal and flexible 
sides and ends of India-rubber or other waterproof fabric. When not in 
use these chambers were collapsed. When desired for use they were ex- 
panded by ropes /, /, shafts D, D, and a main shaft C operated by the 
engine or in any other preferred manner. 

The application was signed "A. Lincoln," and his signature was 
witnessed by "Z. C. Robbins" and "H. H. Sylvester." 



db 



37 



REFERENCES 

V\/'E print below a number of letters from clients for whom our Mr. James W. Bevans has taken out patents. 
The inventors and manufacturers writing these letters are well known, some of them owning and con- 
trolling hundreds of patents. Their business has not been transacted solely by correspondence, but they have 
come in personal contact with the members of this firm. They know the value of a properly solicited patent and 
they know whether such a patent has been procured for them. Further, they know when an attorney knows his 
business. Hence, these letters carry weight. 






Haroh 12, 1907. 



Hr. Jamaa T.'. BsTOna of WsBhlngton, D. 0. haa aeoured for na 
a number of patanta, alao attandod to other wortc la oomeotlon with 
patents and the patent offloe. He haa always given aatlefaotion .in 
every respect. I gladly reooraaend h5jii to any one wishing to 
patent . 



Veiy truly. 




ELLICOTT MACHINE COMPANY 



H. D. 

James W. Bevana, Esq., 



Pel). 21, 1907 



Colorado Bldg. , 

Washington, D. C, 
Dear Sir: 

Aa you ha-re boon looking after all our patent 
business for some years, to wish to say, that wo are highly pleased 
with the work you have done for ua. We have entire eonfidenee In 
your Integrity and ability and the energy which yon have applied to 
our work and the results you have obtained, have given us the best 
of satisfaotlon. 

Yours vary truly, 
Ellicott Machine Co., 
E/O Par 



38 



''^Aail.-^ <S S'ttuui^tt^ 



Wmm 



REFERENCES 



AV. H. ISTlEMEVKR & Co. 



Baltimork.. 



April 25, 1907. 



Janae W. Bevp.ne, Esq,, 

Colorado Bld^., 

Waehingtcn, D. C. 
])ear Sir: 

I am returning herewith tho application duly exeoutod in 
the matter of the Bottle Capping Machine. It is prepared in the 
same excellent manner as my other cases, and meets with n^r entire 
approval . Please file at once. We are now organizing to nanufaotiire the 
excelsior ma.ld.ng n&chine ooirared "by the second latent secured by you, Tho 
several novelties 1 intend to place as soon as the patents are isBueda 

Thanking you for your promptness and personal attention to n^ 
tuainesB, I am, 

Very truly yours. 




^^^^ 



<j3m^^(^«^///'«'/- /}/(./r')//-. //<o/f(/'/<:fi///'mayv^o^///mf/y< 




fer^a;^ Sl^.,'-, ^V"- ^-^A 



39 



:AJ'-/ryw//r>r/fK;f>///// Apni 



24, 1907. 



James W, Bevans, Eaq. 

Colorado Bldg., 

Washington, D.C. 
Dear Slr:- 

During the several years that you have acted as our 
attorney In patent matters, you have solicited many patents, U.S. 
and foreign, for us, coTenng Teiy Taluahle inrentions, and we taks 
this occasion to say that we are more than satisfied with the charac- 
ter of the protection secured hy you. You hare also conducted 
several Interferences, rendered numerous infringement and validity 
opinions, drawn many assignments, licenses, and special agrccmente 
and in each instance have given us the very hest service. Wc have 
every confidence in your ahllity and Integrity. 

Very truly yours, 
JatEKECAN 4 BRITISH MW. CO., 
hy 




Vice-President. 



eEfjs 1801 



INDEX 



Assignments, Licenses— oa 

Assignments 29 

Grants 09 

Licenses 29 

Recording ; 29 

Fees 

2 1 
Authority to Inspect 

„ . 23 

Caveats 

24 
Copyrights 

Design Patents ^ 

Fees— How Payable- 
Caveats ,,, 

Design Patents 5}; 

Mechanical Patents %" 

Trade Mark ■" 

Fortunes From Lucliy Ideas 33-35 

Our Firm— 

Mr. James W. Bevans f 

Mr. William H. Bevans -* 

Our Home- 
Offices • * 

Patents — 

Abandoned, Forfeited and Renewed Applications 18 

Amendments ,2 

Appeals y 

Claims • ,0 

Copies of Patents and Official Gazette }» 

Death of Inventor '* 

Division \l 

Drawings , . 

Extensions ,q 

Foreign Patents ■ {° 

How an Application is Prosecuted '^ 

Interference Proceedings ■^^ 

Joint Inventors it 

Models '* 



Patent Steps.-Step No. 1- Page 

Preliminary Examinations ^ 

Importance of a Preliminary Examination . ■ • • • ^ 

Importance of a Thorough Examination by a Competent 

Attorney „'"' i^ ','■'■''' i ' 

What the Inventor Should Furnish for a Prelimmary bx- 

amination 

Patent Steps.-Step No. 2— 

Execution of Applications }" 

Favorable Report }" 

Unfavorable Report " 

Patent Steps.-Step No. 3— 

Issuance of Patent ' ' 

Petitions !„ 

Reissues ,„ 

Rejected Cases ^" 

Selection of Attorneys ...... ... ° 

Specimen of Drawing Made m Our Office 10 

The Basis on which we do Business » 

Time Required to Secure a Patent '^ 

Value of a Patent ° 

What to Invent '„ 

Who May Obtain a Patent ° 

Patent Granted to Abraham Lincoln 36-37 

Power of Attorney 

Prints and Labels 

„ , 38-39 

References 

Trade Marks— . 

Application for Registration |= 

Sample" of in'di'a-ink Facsimiles Prepared in Our Office . • • • 27 

Term of Trade Mark 5' 

Value of Trade Mark 5" 

What May Not Be Registered 5= 

What to Furnish Attorney ''^ 

Validity and Infringement— 

Opinions go 

S"!'s 32 

Visiting Washington """ 




01 



